YouTube Person Finder hoping to connect Japan earthquake victims

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After going live with its Person Finder search service, Google has now launched the YouTube Person Finder - a tool it hopes will make it easier for missing people in Japan connect to their loved ones.

The country is still in a state of extreme crisis following the Thoku earthquake and subsequent tsunami which hit on Friday 11 March.

And, with thousands of people still not located, the YouTube Person Finder will aggregate personal video pleas from people staying at the temporary shelters.

At the moment YouTube has around 80 videos for the platform, shot by Japanese broadcaster TBS, but it hopes to grow the number by using other networks and, when the infrastructure improves, videos shot by individuals themselves.

The Person Finder page also has a link to the Google Person Finder too.

"Our hope is that this channel will help victims and their families to establish each other's safety, and that the video messages will reach many viewers and motivate them to contribute to the recovery and restoration of the disaster-stricken areas," read the YouTube blog.